communitytestfandomcom-20200222-history
Sic Parvis Magna: Fandance
The CFA-44 Nosferatu (JPN: CFA-44 ノスフェラトゥ) is an original next-generation fighter that was developed in the Strangereal world, as well as the "real world" of the Ace Combat: Assault Horizon universe. Built as a next-generation fighter aircraft, it is compatible with an arsenal of highly advanced combat tools with matching technology and efficient performance. It is also known as the "Fandance" as per NATO naming conventions, or as "Unidentified-Delta". History Strangereal The CFA-44 was a next-generation carrier-based fighter developed in the 2000s by the Federal Republic of Estovakia. The history of the plane remains shrouded in mystery, but it is known that its existence was unknown outside the Estovakian military, and that it was equipped with cutting edge combat technology. The only known Nosferatu built saw combat action in early 2016, near the end of the Emmeria-Estovakia War. In March 31, Strigon leader Ilya Pasternak flew the aircraft while leading his squadron to fight Emmerian forces as the city of Gracemeria fell under their control. Pasternak, knowing that he would die fighting the enemy, ordered his men to turn back and escape before fighting the Emmerians alone. Backed by a swarm of unmanned combat drones and special missile pods, Pasternak fought with the Emmerian army for several minutes before being fatally damaged by the Garuda Squadron. His plane disabled, the defeated Ilya proclaimed that the Strigon Team had successfully escaped, declaring that'' "Estovakia had won" moments before the Nosferatu exploded, killing him. Horizon universe The CFA-44 was developed by the former Soviet Union sometime in the second half of the 20th century. The existence of the aircraft remained unknown to the Western Bloc until reconnaisance imagery spotted one flying near the Romanian Black Sea in the early 1980s.Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Master File'' Initially, the West did not believe it was a vehicle because of its unusual shape, being determined as such only after checking its shadows in nearby clouds. Since no other aircraft was known to have such characteristics at the time, all information pertaining to it remained classified.Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Master File Soon after the initial sighting, the Nosferatu was spotted at army bases in Ukraine and Romania. Images of the plane revealed its delta wing design, and two sources of heat were detected by infrared systems. NATO states began to analyze the aircraft and gather information, but assessments of its performance based on images alone did not take place. It was believed that the plane was built by a top design bureau in the USSR, such as Sukhoi or Mikoyan-Gurevich, but the true origins of the aircraft are unknown.Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Master File By the time of the Nosferatu's discovery, the West began to assign codenames to Eastern Bloc aircraft. The NATO Air Standardization Coordination Committee (ASCC) gave each plane a simple English word, while the United States Department of Defense assigned codenames according to a certain category (for example, the MiG-29 was called respectively "Fulcrum" or "RAM-L", whereas the Su-27 would be named "Flanker" or "RAM-K"). The CFA-44 was not exempted from this, and was named "Fandance" by NATO in reference to its shape, while the DoD assigned it its own category and named it "Uni-D" (short for "Unidentified-Delta").Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Master File Combat service Later in the decade, the MiG-29 began to be mass produced in 1983, and the Su-27 followed suit in 1985. Shortly after passing the demonstration stage, the Fandance temporarily disappeared from Western eyes. During this time, the United States was developing a radar-invisible stealth aircraft, prompting them to produce faulty blueprints to prevent others from copying the design. The aircraft was unveiled to the world in the late '80s as the "Model-117A", or the F-117A Nighthawk.Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Master File In response to the F-117A, the CFA-44 began seeing combat action in various battlefields such as Africa and the Middle East. In this context, the plane gained the attention of the West after combat engagements with American fighters. In one such incident, a downed pilot who faced a Nosferatu described being shot down by "a type of laser weapon", having been hit by the Russian fighter without hearing a single missile alarm. It was also noted that the aircraft tended to intermittently vanish from ground radar.Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Master File The public history of the CFA-44 was soon marked by the discovery of a destroyed Fandance found in an African country with relations to the West, along with the remains of its pilot. The wreckage was soon identified as a CFA-44's, becoming the first Fandance in Western hands. Subsequent analysis concluded that the aircraft, which suffered heavy damage, was destroyed in an accident. As well, the investigation revealed important information, such as the existence of a self-destruct mechanism and the use of single crystal engine blades.Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Master File Design One of the major differences between the Nosferatu and the Fandance is the former's ability to command combat drones known as "UAV-45s", which are programmed to swarm the enemy and run them down with speed unattainable by most conventional aircraft. The workings behind the Nosferatu's stealth ability remain unknown, as (in the case of the Fandance) most information was destroyed or hidden by Soviet specialists stationed at Romania who fled after the fall of Nicolae Ceaucescu's regime. Trivia *The "CFA" prefix is incorrect for the Nosferatu, as CFA is the designation of a transport/fighter and attacker, which it cannot be. The correct designation should be F/A-44, since it is classed as a multirole aircraft in game. If it were a prototype, as suggested in the game, it would be designated XFA-44. *The aircraft is named after the Nosferatu, a vampire from Romanian mythology. A Nosferatu is classified as a Strigoi, from which the squadron's name is derived. *The lack of a one-piece cockpit, external armaments and the lack of a smooth airframe suggests that the Nosferatu is not very stealthy, even though gameplay suggests otherwise. It is possible that the paint constains a radar-absorbent materal similar to that used on the F-22A Raptor. It is also likely that the plane is a prototype, and its design and capabilities have not been fully refined. Its difficulties in making tight turns may support this. *The plane appears in Tekken 6's Scenario Mode as an easter egg. *The Nosferatu cockpit is reused on the GAF-1 Varcolac. *In Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, the Nosferatu's onboard computer language is Russian, affirming a strong connection to the real-world inspiration of the Nosferatu's airframe to the Su-27 Flanker family. Also the Nosferatu's countermanuever arrangements are the same as the Su-35 Super Flanker. The very flexible nozzles are capable of performing the Kulbit turn and Pugachev's Cobra, though the latter is a neutral maneuver. *In Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, the CFA-44 suffers from a glitch like the Su-47 does. Due to both aircraft having immense speed and turning abilities, they seem to "drift" through the air at times when turning. Pulling out of a dive may still send you crashing belly first into the ground, due to the "momentum" they seem to carry. References Category:Protostealth test pages